Author Note: While there are many issues that need to be addressed in our educational systems in America, this article is only going to focus on a few that I believe are having a direct impact on student learning and needs immediate change. I focus on those most pressing issues I see in my district. I acknowledge this is not an exhaustive list and may not represent the most pressing needs of the district you teach in. I also acknowledge that this is just a brief skimming of the surface in regards to some of the systemic changes that are needed and does not touch on even larger issues at play - especially those surrounding our BIPOC students.
Remote and hybrid-instruction has brought problems in the educational system out in the open. Educational systems in place throughout the country can no longer hide the inequitable access to education that is being provided to our students. Not just state to state, city to city, but even school to school-especially in regards to funding and resources. The disrepair to our school buildings and lack of operational HVAC systems are finally being called into question, when they have been ignored for decades due to "lack of funding," even though teachers have been calling for better teaching and learning conditions for decades. The lack of adequate resources and technology were glaringly obvious in the initial shut-down of schools. Higher-income districts with 1:1 technology and access for all students were able to continue learning immediately. Urban districts like my own, who did not have 1:1 technology and have many students without access to adequate internet services, struggled to maintain contact and connection with students, let alone try to instruct from a distance.
With these inequities throughout the country thrown into the light for parents and the world to see what educators already knew, it became apparent that it is past time to question why urban districts seem to always afford materials for standardized assessments and new curriculum designed to enhance student performance on said assessments and yet they cannot afford adequately safe buildings and equitable access to education as their suburban counterparts? Educators already recognize standardized assessments as a poor indicator of student performance and does not directly drive teaching and learning as data from assessments should. How can it when the data is received MONTHS after the assessment is given? At least, that is the process here in Massachusetts. And, if data will not be used to drive instruction, then what is the purpose of the data, other than to try to hold teachers accountable for how a student performs on that ONE day of the year?
During COVID-19 with remote and hybrid learning, benchmark assessments and standardized testing cannot be considered to have reliable and valid data. There are too many outside factors that can influence a student's performance. For example, parents or older siblings "assisting" with the test, using Google to look up answers, using calculators instead of using automaticity skills, clicking randomly through a test to be "finished," and many, many more reasons why the data being analyzed isn't reliable or valid right now. Testing as we know it should be reconsidered. This is a wonderful time of opportunity in our school systems to reconsider the way we assess student learning. And, while administration, acknowledges these problems, districts are requiring assessments regardless and using data for accountability measures due to pressure being put on the district at the state and national level. So much so that districts are changing the name of a test while choosing a different text or problems to be solved; however, this does not mean it is no longer a benchmark assessment. It is STILL a benchmark assessment that will have the same problems with reliability and validity of data. The politics of education is hindering the learning of students. While I feel this is nothing new, per say, I do think it past time for a change, and if not now - when?
On that same point, this is a wonderful time of opportunity in our school systems to reconsider the grading scale and how we grade for proficiency. I have never had so many students at risk of failing a school year. I would love to not fail any child in the middle of a pandemic, yet my hands are tied in my district's structure. I will make even more adjustments to my grading scale going forward, but this would be a great time to take advantage and create a system overhaul. Performance based grading and learning. We need to make systemic change. Yet, I feel we are being held to the same standards of accountability with our students as before. One that was already failing a large percentage of our low-income, BIPOC, and ESL students.
As teachers, we know what is right for our students. That recreating a "normal" school day is not the best for our children who are trying to learn from home. Many of whom are dealing with new barriers to their learning while trying to navigate the barriers they had to overcome before. We are in a pandemic. Students are learning from their HOMES. For some, this model is allowing them to flourish in ways they never did before. For others, they are being failed by a system to accommodate their unique learning needs in these times. Do I have an answer of how to completely fix this issue? No. However, I can see that what we are currently doing is not working for the majority of students; therefore, we need to begin to discuss what to change. Continuing this way all year will not benefit any of our students and the impact will be long-term. I think we will see the impact of COVID-19 on student learning for the next decade at least. We cannot leave these problems to be solved later. There is no "later." My own children have suffered at the hands of COVID-19 systems of learning. I have had to make the very difficult decision to pull them out of public school before they were not received a just and equitable access to education.
I propose we continue to put pressure on those in power to have a voice in what is happening with our students. I have many ideas of what could be tried for our students - as do many educators - because we know our students best. Why are we not a major component of the planning process with districts and states? Educators need to be heard. The work we are doing is exhausting, the fight for what is right is exhausting, and I implore my fellow educators to not give up. We are being provided with an opportunity in education to push back for what is just and equitable for our students. NOW is the time to restructure American education and in order for that to happen, educators must be heard. I am tired of being ignored. I know what my students need and I will continue to resist the toxic positivity culture being pushed on us, so that the real problems my students are having can be addressed and solved. We need to come together and speak up for our students and ourselves. For too long the American educational system has been held to enormously high standards, while being provided a substandard budget. Politicians decide what happens in our classrooms. I, for one, am sick of politics getting in the way of my students education. Students in urban communities suffer from these political mandates the most, especially in regards to budget cuts.
In regards to our current remote teaching model, I would propose some changes for my Grade 6 students to excel:
Shorter school day - We currently have 4 full school days (at the computer) and one asynchronous day. Why can this not be a model of 5 synchronous half-days, with asynchronous afternoons? Our students NEED this, we see a significant difference in student engagement and performance after lunch. Or, use a flipped model for students to access content and curriculum on their own, while teachers manage small-group interventions and supports, as well as daily office hours for students who have questions or need a little more support. I believe there are many other ways we could be structuring our students remote learning. I am sure educators have MANY ideas that would work better for our students and families. This is another reason we need to be listened to from those in power.
Proficiency scales for grading - Some students are not in ideal learning environments. Our current system of grading will not allow them the opportunity they need to achieve passing scores. We are living in a pandemic. Students are experiencing untold amounts of trauma that we are not even aware of. And - now we will fail them? How does this help? I understand the need for student accountability and responsibility. In fact, it is a huge part of my teaching philosophy to help students achieve independence with managing their learning. However, what is happening now is not the way to do this. I am not sure we were ever doing this "right." What I do know is that accountability for students need to be more flexible for students right now than ever before due to our extremely new learning environments. Environments filled with outside distractions that are not present in a normal classroom. Please do not mistake this as saying students do not need due dates or grades - they 100% need to be held accountable. But, an adjustment needs to happen as well for the methods being used to measure student performance and how feedback is given. Our current systems are too rigid to support teaching and learning in a COVID-19 era. Learn more about Proficiency Based Grading by looking at the resources offered from the State of Vermont Agency of Education.
Project-based learning - Students should be working on projects that allow them to connect with people in their communities to solve problems. Students need to experience autonomy in their learning and be provided with opportunities to advance at a pace that is acceptable for their own abilities and living situations. We are using more technology now that ever before. However, most is at a substitution level of application. (See this article on the SAMR Model for more information on this.) We could be doing so much MORE to engage our students and connect them to learners around the world. More information on project-based learning can be found in this article, published by ISTE: Empower learners through project-based learning. The problem is that curriculums are being pushed on educators to use that do not easily incorporate this type of learning structure. We are being held accountable to a normal scope and sequence that moves at an unrealistic pace and doesn't focus on our most essential learning standards. Of course, another impact of this push to move through curriculum, is that students do not have the time and support they may need to become proficient with the content, before being pushed to learn new content. This is always a problem in our educational system, and I would say even more so now as educators recognize that students need more time now to complete learning tasks and experiences than ever before.
Cancel Benchmark Testing and Standardized Testing - Do we really need to put additional pressure on our students to try to perform at a predetermined level that we know will be almost impossible for our students who lost almost 6 months of instruction? Pretty it up however you want - change the name. Change the problems. Change the texts used. It does not change the fact that you are not putting high-stakes testing at the forefront of a student's educational experience during a pandemic. As if living isn't high-stakes enough right now. Teachers know how to assess student learning and use it to adjust instruction and accommodate student learning needs. Trust us to do this without causing additional harm to our children. Formative assessments measures that are low-risk and safe for students will have more value and be more applicable to teaching and learning than any standardized test will be. This is true in a normal year, and even more so now.
I would love to hear your thoughts. What ideas do you have to restructure teaching and learning to support our students during COVID-19 and going forward? What changes do you see that need to happen NOW and not later?
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